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Greek Water Bomber Fighting Wildfires Seen on Video Crashing

UP IN FLAMES

In the clip, the firefighting plane is hosing down a fire amid the trees before circling around and erupting into flames.

A firefighting plane makes a water drop, as a wildfire burns near the village of Vati, on the island of Rhodes, Greece. One water bomber has crashed on the island of Evia, according to authorities and shocking video.
Nicolas Economou/Reuters

A water bomber extinguishing forest fires that have been raging across Greece took a shocking nosedive and crashed on the island of Evia on Tuesday, a video from local news channel EPT shows. The firefighting plane is seen hosing down a fire amid the trees before circling around and bursting into flames. Greek authorities said the condition of those onboard remains unknown and a helicopter will assess the crash site, The Guardian reported. A fire department spokesman said there were at least two people on board the aircraft, both of whom were pilots for the Greek air force, according to Euronews. As Greece battles boiling temperatures in Europe, thousands of tourists and locals have been ordered to evacuate wildfire-ridden islands such as Rhodes and Corfu. The fires have left many visitors stranded at airports and shelters while firefighters struggle to contain the blazes.

Read it at The Guardian